The Big Lebowski

The classic cult film, The Big Lebowski, which was written and directed by none other then the Coen Brothers, has the trademark style that goes along with each of their films. The Coen brother's always construct an odd, yet brilliant way to tell the narrative they are trying to convey. I have seen a few Coen Brother flicks, and each was casted with various characters attributed with bizarre personality traits along with a twisted plot. This time with their film, The Big Lebowski, the Coen Brothers used the element of spectacle a lot of different ways to distinguish each of the character’s weird individuality.

I noticed in the film, that when a spectacle would take place, there would be either narration or a soundtrack or even both, to communicate to the audience what each character is about. For the main character, “The Dude”, the opening sequence in the film introduces him through narration over a spectacle. The spectacle shows his nonchalant lifestyle as he writes a check for .69 cents to purchase a carton of Half and Half in a supermarket as he is chilling with an open robe. This gives the viewer a great idea about the nature of “The Dude”.

Another example of a spectacle in the film is when the character, Jesus, gets introduced. To give one an idea of what part Jesus plays in the film, a spectacle presumes with a Spanish style soundtrack in one of the main settings, a bowling alley. It exhibits his pedophile state of mind as he gets a strike and then begins to do a little dance in his purple jumpsuit and painted fingernails among other things.

The Big Lebowski is filled with many spectacles that illustrate what the film is, a bunch a characters with hilarious characteristics.